


The Aquarium

by onereyofstarlight



Series: Sensory Sunday 2020 [2]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25102816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onereyofstarlight/pseuds/onereyofstarlight
Summary: Gordon goes to an aquarium for a class trip.
Series: Sensory Sunday 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784719
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	The Aquarium

“Gordon, stay with the group!”

The warning pulled him back into the pack of school kids, resisting the lure of the underwater tunnel that lead into the depths of the aquarium. Mrs Anand had already called home once this month and although his Dad had turned an interesting colour as he listened to her, Gordon wasn’t keen to find out what would happen if he pushed his luck.

Hie jaw dropped as they walked into the exhibit. Brightly painted walls stood out between glass tanks containing creatures big and small. A large smiling shark propped up on his tail welcomed the class to the Eugenie Clark Discovery Center.

Eagerly, Gordon wormed his way to the front of the group, eyes wide with anticipation.

“Woah.”

The word was whispered with a reverent awe as he spied the open pool in the centre of the room.

Dark rocks surrounded the sharp corners of the glass, the clear water filled with all manner of animals, like a perfect cross section of a rock pool.

He stretched his hand out towards the glass, eyes full of the gently waving fronds of the anemone.

“Gordon, don’t touch!”

He whipped his hand behind his back and stared up at his teacher innocently.

“Well now, that’s one he can get his hands into,” said the cheerful guide, winking at Gordon with a grin and ignoring the dirty look his teacher sent his way. Gordon grinned back at him.

“Welcome everyone, it’s nice to see so many happy faces. Have we been looking forward to this trip?”

Gordon’s voice crowded out the excited chorus. He’d been waiting weeks for this moment, ever since they’d been told the topic for the term would be the Oceans of the World. When the rest of the class was practicing multiplication, he’d been skip counting schools of fish; when they wrote in their journals about family memories and pets, he’d told stories about his dream of living underwater. He’d lapped up every ounce of information on the subject, skidding through page after page of supplementary data on marine life as his teacher droned at the front about the difference between sharks and dolphins.

“I’m Ben, your marine educator for the day, and I thought we’d start by introducing my favourite creature here at the Eugenie Clark Discovery Center.”

An excited whisper rippled through the class as they edged closer.

Ben brought them to the far corner where a tank three times his height stretched from floor to ceiling.

“Any guesses as to what’s inside?”

“A shark!”

“A turtle!”

“A squid!”

“No, but that last one was close,” said Ben, smiling at Gordon. “I’ll give you a hint, it has eight–”

“Octopus!!”

Gordon jumped up and down as he shouted his new answer, drinking in the delighted laugh of their guide. His teacher’s warning glare to rein it in barely registered as Ben offered him a high five.

“Good job, little man,” he said cheerfully. “What’s your name?”

“Gordon.”

“Well, Gordon, do you want to come up and hold the shrimp for me?”

“Yeah!”

Goosebumps ran up his arms as he held tightly to the ice-packed bag. Condensation ran down his arms as he craned his neck to get the best view of Ben coaxing the octopus into the light.

A gasp rippled through the crowd of eight year olds as the first tentacles creeped from the shadows.

Gordon’s eyes widened. He hardly listened to the brief Ben was giving to the class, too full of the sight of the Giant Pacific Octopus that lazily pulled itself forwards with its tentacles, strutting to and fro’ with billowing webs as though it enjoyed the attention. Every now and then, Ben would reach out hit hand and Gordon would pass over a handful of shrimp for the octopus to feast on.

“They’re really intelligent creatures and they need a lot of stimulation.”

One of his classmates, Carina, gasped as the octopus vanished from view.

“Where did it go?”

Ben smiled and beckoned her towards the tank. He crouched down and pointed at the tank floor.

“Look carefully,” he said. “Can you see her?”

Carina peered into the apparently empty tank.

“No, I – oh, wait! By the rock!” She shook her head in confusion. “Wait… it _is_ the rock?”

Gordon had seen it too, the slight flicker of movement that betrayed the octopus’ near perfect camouflage.

“Good job, you found her.” He raised his voice slightly, looking back at the class. “Alright everyone, come up a few at a time and take a look. Stay quiet though, she does know you’re there and will start showing off again in a few moments. And then you can have some time to explore the other displays.”

The class shuffled eagerly forward and Ben stepped back and stood next to Gordon.

“Thank you for your help there,” he said taking the shrimp from Gordon’s arms. “Do you like octopuses too?”

“Yup,” said Gordon. “But I like the whales the best.”

“Well, you won’t see any of those here, I’m afraid.”

“I know.” He looked up at Ben and wrinkled his nose. “They wouldn’t be happy here anyhow.”

“You’re right about that,” agreed Ben. He fell silent, watching the slow dispersion of students as they drifted away from the octopus tank in small groups, the chatter increasing the further they got from their starting point.

Gordon also wanted to talk. He was bursting with questions about octopuses, and whales, and sea cucumbers, parrotfish, sharks, crabs, sea snakes, and every other creature that floated into his head. But Mrs Anand had taken him aside that morning and told him, gently but firmly, that he wouldn’t be able to monopolise their guide’s time, that he needed to think carefully and choose only three questions to ask.

With so many to choose from, Gordon found he was struck dumb.

“Did you want to take a look at the Rocky Shore display, Gordon?” Ben asked kindly.

“No! I mean, yeah, but also…” Gordon took a deep breath, his eyes landing on the Touch Pool at the centre of the display Ben was indicating towards. “Does it hurt starfish if you touch them?”

“As long as you don’t try to pick them up and are gentle, it’s fine,” said Ben. “We only put the tough adults in the pool, and you can just stroke their back.”

“Okay then.” He ran off to the pool and plunged his hands into the warm water, feeling for the creatures with hands that were gentle and sure. His loud voice carried across the room, helping his classmates identify the animals under their fingertips.

Mrs Anand sidled up to Ben and smiled.

“He’s taken a liking to you,” she observed. “I’m sorry if he’s being a bother.”

“No problem at all,” assured Ben, still watching him. “It’s always more fun when you have kids excited about the ocean.”

“Well, he is that.”

“He reminds me of myself as a kid,” said Ben with a grin. “Never grew out of it and look at me now.”

She laughed. “You may find you have a virtual shadow then. Do you have any junior volunteer programs? His father wants him to get more involved in extra-curriculars, and this might do the trick.”

“Unfortunately not,” said Ben, shaking his head. “But I do run swimming lessons on Thursdays in the local pool, and as they get older we start them on their diving certifications? Maybe that would work?”

“I’ll let Mr Tracy know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Cross posted on Tumblr, original posted 06/07/2020 (I know!! Today!!)
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
